I am so jealous....

[crispyduck]

of you b feeders...I tried but failed on 3 ocassions...would like to try for another baby...what is your secret, your tips?
Thanks

I was offering ds the breast often as I could, was not too worried about them being sore, he would latch on but he got very frustrated as little or nothing was coming..the trying to express came the following day as MW realised non or very little milk production iyswim

Oh, since you asked so nicely, go on then

Milk doesn't usually come in for a few days though - colostrum is all they need for that time.

If I was you, I'd read all I could get my hands on about bfeeding - on kellymom.com, on here, get in touch with a bfeeding counsellor in RL and see if there's a workshop you can attend before you have your baby.

you'll have to be quick, because I'm already 8 weeks pg. lol

I don' think your MW helped TBH. It can take a couple of days for your milk to come through.

Do you have La Leche League or similar in your area?

Thanks- dh and I will be trying for another baby soon and I will seek a BF counsellor this time and read as much as I can...I think its marvellous how you see it as such an easy thing to combat....I read those of threads on Bf but can never contribute to these threads as successful bf has not happened for me as yet.

Lact 8 - i have not heard of that team in my area.

Didn't work out for me with first DD, only lasted few days. She drew blood and it was very painful. Very disappointed. Then five years later had twin DD's. They were 4 weeks early and in special care. I was determined to BF because I really couldn't bare the thought of going home without them. We were in SCBU for 2 weeks and I had lots of help from midwives. Learnt how to do it and carried on at home for a few weeks after, but unfortunately it was very awkward with twins. You couldn't be discreet because you had to strip off top half. Felt a bit apeish! Stongly recommend trying, but don't beat yourself up about it if it doesn't work out.

They have a website, La Leche League or just google. In our area (South Wales) they are working with the HV's to train mums to be BF counsellors. It may be worth asking your HV if there is anything like that in your area. Its great to meet other mums who are bfeeding. I met one mum who had an awful time, she brought photos in of her breasts at the time and looked so painful! But she had lots of support and was able to go on to feed dd and then dd2

Agree with others -- it's normal for milk not to come in for say 3 or 4 days, and normal for them to get a bit frustrated during that time. It's the almost-constant feeding that helps to trigger the milk to come in effectively and to boost supply.

If you are one of those rare women who genuinely aren't producing enough milk even given time and lots of stimulation from the baby then there are drugs that can be prescribed to help.

Joint #1 tips are (a) to see a properly trained bf counsellor if at all possible most midwives (even those who mean well and really want to help) have had very minimal training in breastfeeding and bf support and (b) to get on MN and post about your situation. There are marvellous posters like mears and tiktok who I have seen talk mother after mother through the early days and into well-established breastfeeding.

I had emergency c section and hand pumped and electric pumped for well over a week and got nothing at all so had to use formula.In fact I had to demand formula because the breast police at Harrogate hospital were so anti-formula they would rather my daughter starved to death than have the "evil" formula!!!
I think the drugs used can stop milk along with the shock of an abnormal birth.
Aparrenty accupuncture can be effective in "bringing the milk in" after a shocking birth.
A friend of mine got the best breast feeding advice from a dairy farmer who was visisting his wife. Showed her and the rest of the ladies on the ward how to hand pump properly!!!

manuka, that's a very good point indeed; a shocking and traumatic birth does have an impact...certainly did on me. I had all Franny's certainty that I would breastfeed; my mum had, ALL my friends with kids had; I'd certainly not been around people who bottle fed, I'd read up and knew all the benefits, and basically I was just so looking forward to the magic of feeding my own baby.....

one traumatic 'crash' CS under GA later = me trussed up with drips etc looking and feeling like car crash victim; boobs that never produced even a drop of milk, ds who lay there slack jawed at the boob and never ever even sucked, once......days of longing for things to go right and upset when they never did.....

sometimes it just doesn't work for some people crispyduck; don't beat yourself up. But your determination will get you there I am sure...keep trying...if I was having another baby I would certainly be assuming with the same (misplaced?) confidence that I would do it next time. I think you have to!

my advice would be { not so easy with a c-section } have baby delivered straight onto your naked skin my son was & he started looking to feed very quickly which did shock me as my daughter was not like this mind you didn't have drugs with son & that does make a big difference . also i agree about reading up as much as you can and getting plenty of peer support

Hi - thanks all for your valueable advice, I had major placenta previa with ds2 which resulted in my second c section(very traumatic), I insisted that ds2 was put straight to breast in recovery..which he seemed to latch perfect...but no milk production.. He is 16 months old and I still feel guilty about the bfeeding. I cried for weeks....feel so bad about being unsuccessful with bf..
Is there medication you can take or something alternative to encourage milk production...esp after c section.